EquiRatings gave New Zealand’s Tim Price only a 10 percent chance of winning the 5-star MARS Badminton Horse Trials this weekend, but he’s on track to prove them wrong.
On a testing cross-country course designed by Eric Winter, the optimum time of 11 minutes and 19 seconds proved impossible for anyone to make, as was the case in 2023. But Tim, ranked sixth in the world, did well to finish with Vitali on just 0.4 time penalties, jumping clean and moving up two spots from his dressage placing to stand first before show jumping on 31.7 penalties.
Of Vitali, Tim said, “He gave everything he had today – he was just class.”
Looking toward Sunday’s final phase, Tim noted, “His show jumping has been good recently and I think I’ve got a bit of a plan in place. He’s buzzing with fitness and wellness, so hopefully that will help tomorrow, but I’m just going to enjoy it for today.”
Tim Price and Vitali (Photo Badminton Horse Trials)
If he wins, Tim will have achieved what his wife, Jonelle, did in 2018, when she was victorious with Classic Moet. EquiRatings advises that eight of the past 11 winners have been in the top five after dressage.
Tim, who has jumped every 5-star course in the world, won’t rely as yet that tomorrow he will be holding the famous Whitbread trophy. Only six of the last 11 cross-country leaders went on to win the entire event, EquiRatings says, noting less than one in five have jumped clear at Badminton since 2010.
Great Britain’s most veteran William Fox-Pitt, tied for eighth after dressage, is less than a rail behind Tim with 33 penalties. He had a mere 2.4 time penalties added to his dressage score of 30.6. William took one cautious longer route that added a few seconds to his total on the lovely mare Grafennacht.
The master rider has hinted that this will be his last Badminton, and you know he’d like to go out a winner.
Of his mount, he said, “She’s a cracking mare – anyone could ride her; she always says `yes’. She’s not put a foot wrong and is a great old man’s conveyance.
William Fox-Pitt and Grafennacht. (MARS Badminton Horse Trials)
“I was optimistic about today because she has never had a cross-country fault. I did take a long route and circle at the Dew Pond and Tim didn’t, so that serves me right,” added William, who made an amazing comeback from a life-threatening head injury more than eight years ago.
Further back on 37.2 penalties is Ireland’s Lucy Latta, a Badminton first-timer with RCA Patron Saint (such a good name for an event horse who is no trouble on cross-country). Lucy, who works in marketing, had the fastest time of all, coming close to the optimum by one second with just 0.4 penalties and making the leap from equal eighth in dressage (that should sound familiar) to stand on 37.2 penalties. That gives Tim a margin of a rail plus some time over her.
And what of the rider EquiRatings picked as the favorite with a 21 percent chance of winning?
That would be defending champion Ros Canter on Izilot DHI, her 2023 Pau 5-star winner and the leader after dressage. The world number two-ranked rider activated a frangible pin at obstacle 10 jumping into the MARS Badminton Lake, then retired after her horse spooked and ran past the final element. Bummer.
It was also a disappointing day for the U.S., especially since there were such high hopes for Boyd Martin and Tsetserleg after they finished fourth in dressage with 29 penalties. The experienced duo was going well as one of the first rides on course, until…
Let Boyd tell you about it.
“Thomas (as Tsetserleg is known around the barn) started out fantastic. We were humming along, jumping all the hard obstacles early on,” said Boyd, ranked world number three.
And then trouble struck three-quarters of the way around.
It was “a sunken road, which was a skinny down a dip in three strides, up a bank to one stride to a skinny. I had a complete mental breakdown,” he recounted.
“I knew I had to stay out and get square but…I don’t know, we were going pretty fast. We’d done a lot of the harder jumps and I was getting a bit too brave and confident,” he admitted.
Boyd Martin and Tsetserleg at Badminton (Photo Peter Nixon for USEA)
“Unfortunately, I cut my turn and tried to angle this skinny and it was basically a horrible ride. Poor old Thomas didn’t have a moment to see the fence and balance up and jump the jump. We ran off the skinny and I sort of tried to figure out where the alternate was and sort of figured it out.”
But not exactly.
“I crossed my tracks going the alternate way. After that, I was sort of just on survival and got him home safe and sound. It was unbelievable riding here and a tough, tough place to bring an event horse.”
He was given 20 penalties for the run-out and 40 more for crossing his track. Then there were the 25.2 time penalties, making his total 114.2 penalties and putting him in thirty-eighth place among the 41 who finished cross-country.
Good on Boyd for being so honest, as he usually is, and for adding, “Very proud of Thomas. Kicking myself all day for the ride I gave him at one jump. Fingers crossed for tomorrow’s show jumping.” He’s looking for his first completion at Badminton.
Grace Taylor and Game Changer, the best U.S. finisher after cross-country at Badminton. (Peter Nixon for USEA)
The best-placed U.S. rider is the unsung UK-based Grace Taylor with Game Changer, nineteenth on 54.6 penalties and clear over the jumps. She moved up from thirty first place after dressage. After her it’s Tiana Coudray on Cancaras Girl, twenty-sixth, followed by Cosby Green in thirty-second on Copper Beach.
Meghan O’Donahue (Palm Crescent) and Allie Knowles (Morswood) were eliminated after falling.
Click here for results
